Binghamton Police Take Man Into Custody After West Side Standoff

Police officers and SWAT team members surrounded a Binghamton building after a man armed with a gun barricaded himself inside.

The incident started around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at 30 Edwards Street on the city's West Side.

Binghamton police chief Joseph Zikuski said residents of an apartment in the building had been allowing a man to stay with them. But they said the man "started to act crazy, pulled a gun on them, threatened to shoot them and their dog."

Zikuski told WNBF News the residents ran from the building and called police. He said as it turned out, the special investigations unit had obtained a warrant for the apartment.

Police were in the planning stages of executing a search warrant. Zikuski said police were aware that the building had an air shaft with a ladder in it. He said the suspect climbed that ladder and went into a vacant third-floor apartment. That's where he was found by police, who took him into custody without incident around 3:15 p.m.

Zikuski said the man was wanted on a dangerous drug warrant in Pennsylvania.

The name of the suspect, who is believed to be in his 20s, was not immediately released.

Zikuski said the Metro SWAT team was activated because the man had threatened people with a gun.

Edwards Street was closed between Thorp and North streets during the police operation.

VIDEO: Watch as police brought a suspect out of an apartment building after the standoff.

VIDEO: Binghamton police chief Joseph Zikuski discussed the Edwards Street incident on February 13, 2024.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.